Sorry I've been quiet

For regular followers of the blog, I must apologise for two things - the lack of postings here and (to a lesser extent) the lack of progress. A friend at work laughed when I referred to the breakdown of my marriage as "a minor setback"; this is certainly a low and unfortunately this has suffered.

A few words though, I've spent a lot of time on the bike lately. If anything, recent events have meant even more time in the saddle. I'm getting on well with the Alfine + Gates Carbon Drive - it certainly is a brilliant combo. But the way we have it at the moment is not perfect, and I've also picked up some minor issues with the Alfine 8 and Versa shifters.

More to come soon, I promise.

A long time coming

I finally managed to prise the Alfine off Andy. Ok, I might be exaggerating slightly, Andy was always very happy to hand the Alfine over, but I was having a ball with the smooth simplicity of the single speed belt drive and certainly learning a lot about the belt drive.

I remember when I first mentioned the Alfine to Andy (many months back), he was skeptical; now he is a total convert. Personally, I've never ridden an Alfine for any significant period, certainly not on a day-to-day basis, so while I am sold on the concept, I'm yet to be totally won over.

Although I got the wheels on Tuesday, a seriously annoying bout of man-flu over the last few days has kept me from building and riding the proto, but finally I got around to it. In reality, it hasn't been that long, but it certainly has felt like it.

The build itself was fairly painless. The belt line was just about perfect and with the Alfine sprocket also being a 24T, the same as the single speed set-up, I didn't even need to adjust the EBB. The cable guide was also spot on, giving a very tidy routing.

The Versa VRS-8 shifters are also interesting. If you are used to Shimano STI levers, these do feel a little slender, but seem perfectly comfortable. The shape of the levers is fairly Shimano-esque so no surprises there. The action of the shifting is smooth and positive, though I'd probably have preferred a shorter shift lever arc. The only criticism I have of them at this point is that they are supplied with a rather flimsy cable adjuster (a Ritchey branded component); it does the job but I think I'll swap in some SRAM in-line adjusters on the weekend.

I've only ridden it around the block (a few times) so far to early to write about my experiences with it, but once I've got a few miles in, I will surely let you know how it goes.

ps. Thanks for all the interest. I was surprised with the response and questions that rolled immediately after I added the Contact link. We do have a lot of work still to do; particularly testing ver2.0 as well as resolving the numerous commercial issues. But we are getting there. Keep the questions coming, and thanks again for following our progress.

Version 2.0

The last few days have been very busy trying to get the drawings finalised for the second prototype. Although the design remains fundamentally similar, in the tweak to Ver 2.0, every tube except the head tube changes subtly.

The biggest change will be the EBB that will be ditched in favour of adjustable sliding dropouts (though we are likely to keep the option of the original dropouts available for simpler derailleur-specific builds). Other smaller changes include a slightly smaller top tube and beefier chainstays. All in all, tweaks to make it easier to set-up but also simply ride better.

In parallel, while Andy continues trying to break the Alfine, I have also been preparing the Proto for a week long tour that will take in approximately 500-550 miles in 5 days. I cannot wait, though I do loathe swapping back to a chain after having been spoilt by running the Gates belt drive!

So this week I'll pry the Alfine kit off Andy to test fit it to the Proto just to make sure there are no issues, and then we'll be pressing the button on Ver 2.0. Can't wait!

Spring's here!

It is official. Spring has sprung. Today was sensational! As soon as I'd got the domestic chores out of the way (ok, some of them), I grabbed the bike and headed out in a t-shirt and shorts to enjoy the sun. It was great so great to feel the warmth of the sun on my face, and the wind in my hair after months of wrapping up!

A combination of the day-job, and a bad back have made it difficult to make the progress I'd have liked to with Such, so this weekend I was determined to get some of those issues ticked off the to-do list.

First up was fitting of 'guards and a rack - though I must admit to an ulterior motive: I do plan to go on tour later in the month.

I started with the rack but soon hit a snag, the rack I had chosen, a Tortec Tour Ultralite, would not fit without a compromise of a 2mm spacer each side - this being a result of a little fouling between the rack leg and the dropout. A Tubus Vega with "plate ended" legs as opposed the the "squashed tube" of the Tortec would fit perfectly, so I'll swap the rack for one of these in the meantime. That said, for production, the rack mount point will be modified a little to accommodate Tortec-style rack legs.

With that disappointment, I moved onto the 'guards (or fenders for our friends Stateside!). This was a pleasure. The design of the mounting points requires a little more effort in fitting the rack, but the end result is arguably a lot tidier and crucially does not interfere with the rack mounts (the disc caliper already being well out of the way).

I'm particularly chuffed with how the seatstay bridge mount point has turned out. It does require drilling the 'guard, but it eliminates the nasty bridge bracket that is required when attaching to a brake bolt, and also results in a much more rigid (and consequently rattle free) installation. But mostly (I think) it just looks really tidy.


Purely by coincidence, the Kinesis DC19 fork uses a similar arrangement with the 'guard mounting points halfway up the inside of the fork blades, so this maintains a visual symmetry. Neat, huh? We are looking at alternative fork options, including steel and Ti, hopefully we will be able to replicate this feature.



With disc brakes, plenty of clearance for cushy, pothole-friendly rubber even with full 'guards (32c Vittoria Randonneur Hypers on there at the moment, and loads more room), a completely fuss-free, clean belt-drive, single speed drivetrain (alternatively Alfine - belt or chain, or conventional derailleurs), a silky Ti frame and ready to tour or 'cross if that takes your fancy - is this perhaps the coolest commuter for London?

Better late than never ... and more about the belt

You never realise how much you depend on your computer until it breaks. My old workhorse had been groaning and complaining for the last few months, but finally gave in last weekend - simply refusing to boot up and leaving me quite distressed. I managed to get back online in a fashion by swapping in a spare hard disc and installing Ubuntu, but it was touch and go which made me think it was more likely a hardware than a software problem.

Fast forward a week and I have a shiny new "ultra-portable" laptop which works a peach, making me a happy camper. Anyhow, you probably aren't reading this for laptop reviews, so I'll just get on with it.

The belt itself has been a revelation. I've always thought the best inventions are those that you don't really notice. Take electricity. You flick the switch and you have light. While you are in the lit room, you don't think how great the electricity is. But when it isn't working you really notice it is there.

To me, the belt drive is kinda like that. When you ride it for the very first time, it feels very smooth, but before long you stop noticing it. You just get about your ride, the bike feels great - like it's just had a good lube - but otherwise you hardly notice it is there.

Then you ride with a friend and suddenly you hear the whirr (and occasional clatter) of the chain. A noise that was once taken for granted seems suddenly so invasive. The same goes for the feel; hop onto a chain driven bike and suddenly you notice the mechanical feel of the chain meshing with chainrings and sprockets. Not that it grates; to the contrary, I enjoy the mechanical feel of the bike in the same way I like old cars. Just that the belt erases any transmission vibration and is simply smooth, which is lovely.

Ok, granted my belt is still very new and I am keen to see just how it wears, but so far I am very impressed. At the moment I have been running it as a single speed, but I plan to try it out with the Alfine in the coming weeks - something I am looking forward to a lot.

In terms of the proto frame, fitting the belt did present a few snags. Nothing insurmountable, but certainly issues that I'll aim to resolve in the next iteration. This will almost certainly mean a switch to sliding dropouts instead of the EBB for the belt driven application, though we will most likely keep the option open for fixed dropouts. I'd be interested to hear your views!

So, with a good few miles under the wheels of the first prototype, I'm busy revising the drawings for the next prototype. None of the changes (besides the new sliding dropouts) are major, so I expect the next prototype frame will be with us soon. Not much time if we are going to keep to our schedule, so I'd better get back to it!

ps. The green tape was a little fun, and I'm loving the bullhorns.

Smooth, like butter ... yum

Rides beautifully.  

A few snags during fitting, but nothing that either can't be designed out for the production version, or that isn't just part of the learning process.

Now, I really must get around to the less exciting stuff like fitting a rack and guards!

ps.  More to follow, I am just too knackered for now.

Ooooh oooh! Is that box for me?

The UPS man popped by this morning and dropped off another apparently empty cardboard box.  The box was from Universal Transmissions, the European agents for the Gates Carbon Drive system.  For those who don't know, Carbon Drive is the relatively new bike drive concept that replaces the oily, mucky chain with a clean, lube free carbon fibre reinforced belt.

From the start we decided that Such Bikes are all about technology that makes sense, and this is reflected not only in our approach to design, but also selection of technology.  Part of this philosophy is the Gates Carbon Drive.

I hope to get this installed this weekend (there are just a few small bits and bobs I still need to do the job properly); can't wait to try it out!  I will definitely post my impressions of the belt drive as I gain experience of it and put it through its paces.